Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 17:07:22 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] The WSFAns who cried Wolfram . . .

There was some mention of Wolfram at 3rd Friday by some of the science =
oriented folks, thought y'all might be interested in this:

>From PW NewsLine for June 14, 2002

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For A New Kind of Science, A Classic Self-Publishing Success Story

It's a jaw-dropping accomplishment for an author to ship 50,000 copies
of a self-published book to retailers on its publication date, let
alone to hit #1 on Amazon.com in the first week on sale. But that's
exactly what Stephen Wolfram did, and that's before Time, Newsweek and
the New York Times Book Review covered the book.

Wolfram's book, A New Kind of Science, has remained among Amazon's top
15 bestsellers since its May 12 pub date, despite being listed without
a discount and, for the past two weeks, as a title not scheduled to
ship for another three to five weeks. (The bookseller is awaiting the
second 50,000-copy printing, due at the end of June.) "Usually a book
will spike then drop a bit if it goes out of stock, but people just
seem hell bent on getting this book," says Amazon bestsellers editor
Tim Appelo. The achievement is more extraordinary when you consider
that the book is a 1,197 page tome that weighs in at 4 1/2 pounds and
retails for $44.95.

Written to be accessible to general readers, the book, as you may have
heard, has quickly become Topic A in scientific circles. Challenging
the ability of Newtonian mathematical equations to model the workings
of nature, Wolfram argues that simple algorithms can account for
surprisingly complex displays. To support this argument, he produces
programs that create eerily realistic images of snowflakes, the
pigmentation patterns on leopards and the complex flows of turbulent
fluids.

When he began writing the book in 1989, Wolfram did not plan to
self-publish it. He sold the book on a proposal to Addison Wesley in
the early 90's but later parted ways when Wolfram did not deliver the
book on a timetable acceptable to the publisher. In the mid-90s, he
sold the book to the Free Press, where sales reps solicited his book
to booksellers before the house eventually cancelled it for the same
reason.

The rise of Amazon.com in the late 90's convinced Wolfram that
self-publishing was a viable option, says freelance publicist John
Ekizian. He was also convinced that his firm - which produces high-end
software and accompanying books - could do a better job of printing
the book than a commercial publisher. (The book, which resembles a
heavily illustrated textbook, includes hundreds of high-resolution
black and white graphics, that require sheet-fed printing on
high-quality paper.)

To assist with the publication, Wolfram enlisted Ekizian, who was
publicity director at the Free Press. On Ekizian's referral, Wolfram
hired publishing consultant Marilyn Allen, formerly a v-p of sales and
marketing at HarperCollins and Pocket Books, to handle sales to
national accounts. In a more unusual step, the author charged his own
Wolfram media sales reps to make cold calls at the major independent
bookstores.

While he is encouraging retailers to order from Ingram and Baker and
Taylor, he is capable of shipping direct from his warehouse. Wolfram
also says he has been besieged by offers  from major houses for the
paperback rights, but he's continuing his DIY theme: He plans on
retaining paperback rights.--Charlotte Abbott